Kent I

My local True Value Hardware carries it.

This looks interesting. I've been using Autocad Fusion 360 (also free for amateur users) which is a great deal more flexible and will output a variety of file formats. It has a CAM module, but I haven't used it, so don't know what it does...presumably it's a post processor. Someone mentioned Sketchup. does the free version now have solid modeling capability?

+1. I built mine around the same motor, using most of the components that came in the set. A little scrap plywood and some cup hooks and you're there.

Thanks Glen. That's pretty much what I've been doing, and it's nice to have verification that it works. I'll do some strength testing before I use the plugs for real.

There was a discussion of home made twisted wire screweyes on this forum some time last year, but search as I may, I can't find it. Can somebody give me a lead? If not, can somebody who uses these clue me in on how to screw these into the plug without causing the wire to unwrap? I've been using these, but don't have confidence in them because of the minimal amount of engagement.im able to achieve between the hole and the screweye. I would greatly appreciate any help with this.

There's a ton of great advise in here, and giving it a try will tell you which posts apply to you. If you decide to go ahead, I would recommend that you take a beat-up sample of your plug and slice it in half along the centerline. This will show you how it's constructed inside (the shape of the thru-wire and so on), and give you an accurate profile if you should decide to go the carving route. Good luck. You can expect to have fun with this, but don't expect to save money.

The "put it in an envelope and mail it to yourself" will not establish priority, no matter how foolproof it seems. For those interested in a clear and understandable explanation of patent law, I recommend the book "Patent It Yourself". I forget the author's name, but it's a worthwhile read. Copyrights are indeed cheap, and for all practical purposes, can be established by just writing "copyright (the letter c in a circle will do) followed by your name. Aesthetic objects can be copyrighted, but not utilitarian objects. There is a class of patents called "design patents", that are meant to protect a product's physical appearance. They are less expensive and easier to get than a utility patent, but protect only the object's appearance, not its function, and as you might expect, are very easy to circumvent. Even minor changes to the appearance avoids infringement, and court cases involving design patents are usually long, messy, and expensive...think Apple IPhone vs Samsung.

Incidentally, the inventor also has one year after the first public introduction to apply for a US patent. After that, if no patent is applied for, it becomes public domain and can't be patented by anyone. I should also mention that there is a provisional patent that, if I recall, costs $20, and just requires a written description of the invention. If I'm not mistaken, it would allow you to mark your product "pat pending", which has no force of law, but might scare off the people who aren't too serious. Again, I think the hot ticket is to just get it on the market as quickly as you can. With most manufacturers, "time to market" is a very big deal, as delayed product introductions mean lost revenues and the opportunity for competitors to beat you to a new idea.

Given the possibility of faking either one, I doubt they would be accepted as proof of priority. the gold standard for proof of priority is a hand written lab notebook , with each page dated and witnessed. An offer for sale ( a magazine ad with photo and description, for instance) instantly prevent anyone else from patenting any invention contained in the gadget in question unless they can prove that they were working on it before the inventor was. It's possible that an offer for sale on a web site or Facebook page would serve the same purpose. As I said, starting up manufacturing and sales is pretty good protection. I doubt that Bill Lewis' Rattletrap sales are much affected by Cordell's look-alike offering.

You shouldn't worry about somebody else patenting your idea and preventing you from using them. Once an invention has been shown in public or offered for sale, it is no longer patentable by anyone but the inventor, (unless the outside applicant can prove that he was working on the idea before the inventor was). Your best bet is to start making your product and getting it on the market. If it's a successful product, being first to market is pretty good protection. One thing you should protect is the name of your product, but that's a copyright, easy to get and easily defensible. Good luck.

Wish I could get my wife interested in CAD. I have a good bit of experience myself, but so far haven't found any free ( or inexpensive) software that's quicker to learn than it is to just hand carve the plugs.

Interesting idea...seems to work really well. Nice going.

Impressive CAD work. Are they machined as halves and glued together, or in one piece, rotating on the X axis?

Amazing detail for wood...are you using a CAD model and CNC mill to make them?

How do you keep the whole quart from curing up after you open the can? I have a quart of a boat finish called Coelan sitting on a shelf because I haven't been willing to blow the whole quart on just one or two lures.

In his LIFisherman article on building the jointed eel, Jack Frech recommends dulling the finish with steel wool, and says that he thinks dull finish plugs catch more fish than shiny ones. Fish don't look shiny when they are in the water.

I don't know who mentioned Fusion 360, but thanks to whoever it was. I downloaded and installed it yesterday and had pretty low expectations, but find the CAD part to be excellent...powerful, intuitive and uncomplicated. Haven't tried lofting yet, but the "shape" function seems well suited to plug design, and there is an assembly mode so you can place wires, hooks, weights and so on. I've just hacked around on it for an hour or two, so have just scratched the surface, but so far I'm impressed, and you can't beat the price!

Don't know what your color scheme is, but if it's simple, you might try adding pigment to the epoxy top coat, then running them through a vibratory finisher with the appropriate grit. To

Vodkaman, thanks for the time estimates. It's tempting to go to CAD for lure building, for obvious reasons, but I've been away from it for a few years and it's easy to forget how long it takes to do lofted surfaces. Besides, it's really more fun to carve than it is to sit in front of a computer screen, and undercuts are no problem. that said, I think I may try a plug in Delftship (free ship design software...I also build kayaks), which, despite the inconvenient unit conversions that will be necessary, is easy to use and would generate accurate templates and give me a center of bouyancy and c.g.

im talking about drawing in modifiable cross sections that can be meshed, then modified or faired to refine the shape. I'be never worked with Catia; has it been ported to pc's, or is it still strictly mainframe? Anyway, I've tried freecad, which reminds me of Pro-E 20 years ago, and Freeship, which is burns based, and easy to work with, but is meant for ship design, so the units are hard to deal with, and Rhino, which just didn't seem all that great. Pro-E is great, but out of my price range.

I've been reading this thread with great interest, as I used to do design work for a living, running Pro-E. I've periodically looked around for an inexpensive CAD package that will do free form surfacing, but haven't found any that work well. Has anything come along in the last few years that will do the trick without breaking the bank, or is it still better to just hand carve and scan?

There is also gilding with either silver or aluminum leaf. Or electroless plating with silver or nickel, although plating adds a messy layer of complication to plug building.